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The Cresset, a journal of commentary on literature, the arts, and public affairs, explores ideas and trends in contemporary culture from a perspective grounded in the Lutheran tradition of scholarship, freedom, and faith while informed by the wisdom of the broader Christian community.

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A Review of Public Faith in Action: How to Think Carefully, Engage Wisely, and Vote with Integrity

Aaron Morrison

“Vote
your conscience.”

These
words signified the closest Senator Ted Cruz came to endorsing presidential
candidate Donald Trump at the contentious 2016 Republican National Convention.
Cruz’s phrase sent another message: voting requires moral consideration. For
Christians, this means applying their faith at the ballot box. With both
presidential candidates rocked by scandals, the moral task of voting in this
election seems particularly complicated.

Yale Divinity professors Miroslav Volf and Ryan
McAnnally-Linz offer practical guidance for Christians in their new book, Public
Faith in Action: How to Think Carefully, Engage Wisely, and Vote with Integrity.
This short, accessible volume provides readers an opportunity to clarify their
understanding of Christian values and how those values may be applied to
current political issues.

Public Faith in Action functions as a “companion” (ix) to Volf’s 2011 A Public Faith, which cast a theological vision
for “the place and the role of followers of Christ” in pluralistic societies.
Supplementing this vision, Public Faith in Action explains more concretely what
kind of “virtues and commitments” are needed for Christians to faithfully
process political concerns. While the arguments of Public Faith in Action are
not as fully articulated as those in A Public Faith, this book is written in a
way that invites discussion among small groups of Christians serving in “many
different places and situations” (xiii). In so doing, the authors provide an
introduction to Christian political theology and praxis that is friendly to a
general audience.

Volf and McAnnally-Linz divide their book into three parts:
“Commitments” (theological assumptions), “Convictions” (commitments applied to
current political topics), and “Character” (virtues that aid Christian public
engagement).

“Commitments” features a concise account of theological
points made in A Public Faith. The authors set a strong, Christo-centric
framework for Christian public engagement. Volf and McAnnally-Linz attest to
how the Church throughout history either strengthened or damaged its witness
depending on its relationship to governments. They urge Christians to remember
the incarnational model of Christ and reject an ideal of expanding the kingdom
of God by coercive methods.

In chapter two of “Commitments,” titled “Christ, The Spirit,
and Flourishing,” the authors delineate human flourishing as the Church’s
ultimate political goal. They identify three aspects of human flourishing:
leading life well, life going well, and life feeling good. The authors chose
these three aspects in order to “correspond roughly to three important strands…
in the Western tradition” (13), namely Kant’s ethics of duty, Marx’s
materialism, and contemporary pop culture’s emphasis on feeling good.

In the section’s last chapter, titled “Reading in Contexts,”
the authors identify two contexts Christians must keep in mind for faithful
public engagement: canonical context and contemporary context. Because of the
great differences between the world of the Bible and the world of today, the
authors call for a careful, communal reading of both contexts. As an example,
they cite Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Southern Christian Leadership
Conference’s use of the biblical narrative to address racial injustice.

The largest section of Public Faith in Action is
“Convictions.” Volf and McAnnally-Linz organize each of its seventeen chapters
around a contemporary issue, then cite a parallel in the Bible, and end with
the authors’ summation of Christian stances on the subject and a list of
discussion-type questions titled “Room for Debate.” These brief, clear chapters
on topics dominating US life and political discourse (including education,
marriage and family, borrowing and lending, health and sickness, migration,
policing, and the environment) establish a baseline understanding of the issues
at stake. By illuminating the nuances of the debates, the authors explain the
need for Christians to reject a utilitarian calculus, especially in the
chapters on economic matters.

In the chapter on marriage and family, the authors sketch out
one of the most contentious culture war topics, same-sex marriage, by
skillfully analyzing its legal and cultural implications. Volf and
McAnnally-Linz show persuasively how supporters of traditional marriage can
maintain a consistent, Christian worldview while also advocating for legal
protection of same-sex marriage. The authors’ desire for a more gracious
Christian political engagement comes across most plainly on this theme.

The “Character” section stands slightly apart from the two
earlier sections, and addresses the virtues Christians need for faithful
political witness. The authors share stories of notable individuals who illustrate
these virtues. The story of Father Stanley Rother—a Catholic priest from
Oklahoma whose social justice work in a poor, rural part of Guatemala was cut
short when he was killed by a death squad in 1981—stands out as a example of
Christian courage that will stay with readers.

Volf and McAnnally-Linz draw heavily from scripture in making
their arguments—a move evangelical readers will appreciate. The list of
suggested resources at the end of each chapter is divided into “introductory”
and “advanced” study, and the authors’ superb annotations and copious notes
will encourage readers to research beyond the scope of this book.

In recent years, several other Christian authors have
published books in a similar vein to Public Faith in Action. These include Darrell
Bock (How Would Jesus Vote?: Do Your Political Views Really Align With The
Bible?, 2016), Tony Evans (How Should Christians Vote?, 2012), and Wayne Grudem
(Voting as a Christian, 2012). Compared to those works, Volf and
McAnnally-Linz’s volume leans more toward the evangelical left and expends more
effort to persuade its readers to reject factionalism. Their desire to
cultivate a spirit of civility and move the discourse forward makes for an
edifying read, regardless of whether readers agree with their take.

The political realm is complex, and readers who finish Public
Faith in Action might not feel more confident in their vote. But Volf and
McAnnally-Linz enourage Christians to work toward a biblically rooted, common
political good. Public Faith in Action’s durable message is not merely for
individual Christians to vote their conscience, but, just as important, to
first ground their conscience among the totality of believers: past, present,
and future.

Aaron Morrison is a master of theological studies student at Princeton
Theological Seminary.